Quick Alfredo Sauce

I know that this sauce is kind of simple. I mostly am blogging about it to preserve it for my kids when I am gone so that they know how to make it. If you have ever bought Alfredo sauce at the grocery store, this one will put it to shame. The best part about it is that it only takes about 15 minutes.

Please, for the sake of all things sacred, DO NOT use the green shake bottle of shelf-stable Parmesan cheese. That's just gross. If you decide to do that I would urge you to stop now and just buy a jar of Alfredo sauce. Call me a cheese snob (which I admit) but it just will not taste as wonderful.  My favorite Parmesan cheese comes from the fine folks at Sartori.

I know, if you have read any of my previous posts, you will already know that I think this is just the best ever. Why mess with perfection?

Here is what you need:

(1) stick of REAL butter (equals 1/2 cup) - please do not use margarine...just no.
(2) cups (or 1 pint) of heavy whipping cream
(1 1/2) cups of Sartori Grated Parmesan cheese
(1/2) teaspoon Fresh grated nutmeg (yep, I do not use a shake bottle of nutmeg that has been sitting around in my cabinet for centuries getting dull)

On medium-low heat, melt butter in a saucepan. Quick tip: I cut my butter up into slices to help it melt faster. When butter is melted, add the whipping cream. Whisk to combine well. Next add all your grated Parmesan cheese. Whisk to combine.

I cooked this on the stove top and stirred very frequently. You don't have to stir non-stop but don't neglect it. Keep stirring and checking until you can put a spoon it, take it out, and then draw a line down the middle of the spoon with your finger and the lines do not join back together. Be careful, this will most likely be hot.All total it takes about 15 minutes. Don't worry about it being too loose as it will thicken up as it cools.

That's it....how is that for easy? Pour it over pasta, chicken or whatever! I am convinced you will not go back to store-bought Alfredo sauce ever again.

Cowboy Casserole

It's been a long time since I have posted! I am sorry....life gets busy, family gets sick and the computer takes a backseat! So did my family's dinner menu. I realized I was fixing the same thing over and over again. I have heard it said the average family eats the same five things every week. YUCK! I don't want that for my family! BUT I am tired and I don't have very much time or resources for new recipes!

I decided to pull up my big girl panties and try something new. It was mostly made up out of my head after looking at several old cookbooks and not liking what I saw.  I wanted something quick, in the skillet and that ever one would like. This is what I came up with:

Brown the following in a very large skillet:

(2) pounds of ground chuck (poor Chuck)
(1) medium onion, chopped
(1) medium green pepper, diced

Drain fat from the hamburger after it is completely done and put back in skillet. (Your skillet should be on medium heat.)

Drain the following and add to the hamburger:

(1) can of pinto beans
(1) can of black beans (rinse them first)

Stir this into the hamburger and then add the following:
(1) teaspoon garlic salt
(1) teaspoon chipoltle chili powder
(2) teaspoons chili powder (regular kind, nothing fancy)

Next add to regular size cans of diced tomatoes WITH their juice and stir.
Now add the following:

(2) cups of Minute Rice with (2) cups of hot water.

Stir and bring all to a boil.  Cover and reduce heat, stirring occasionally. Cook for approximately 10 minutes or so until rice is cooked and juices have reduced.

Serve on a plate circled with Frito corn chips and sprinkled liberally with shredded sharp cheddar cheese and shredded pepper jack cheese.

 

Chicken Pot Pie....sort of

Tonight was all about fast. I had a bag of shredded chicken leftover in the refrigerator I needed to use.  I had a can of biscuits.  I had a conversation with my friend Shannon about what she was going to do with her chicken tonight. We talked about pot pie and I started craving it. But I did not feel like fixing it very much. So I dashed off to the grocery store for some frozen veggies (I did not feel like dealing with all the chopping and peeling of fresh so don't fuss!) and some Campbell's Cream of Chicken and Herb soup.  This is how I threw (and I really did just throw) it together.

In the bottom of a pan that I rubbed with some butter I put a layer of shredded chicken. To the top of that I sprinkled some Soul Seasoning, Garlic Powder and Parmesan cheese.

Pardon my shadow fingers in that picture!! Oh well.....I really stuffed the chicken in the bottom of the casserole dish.  Next came the layer of vegetables. I used two bags of an Italian vegetable mix that had zucchini, carrots, lima beans, peas, cauliflower, peppers, beans and who knows what else!

I mixed two cans of the Campbell's Cream of Chicken and Herb soup with one and half cans of milk well mixed together.  This became the next layer over-top the chicken and vegetables.

And then for the next "cheating" part, I took two cans of biscuits and put them on top of the casserole and put it in the oven at 400 degrees for 15 minutes until the biscuits are brown. I then put a sheet of aluminum foil on top to protect the biscuits from further browning and let it heat for another 10 minutes so that the vegetables and chicken and gravy could get good and hot.

As you can see from the picture I cheated even further....I used a foil aluminum pan so I did not even need to wash dishes! I had a fast, yummy stress-free dinner.